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DIXON – Mike Dallas hadn’t been inside Dixon’s Memorial Pool facility since he was 8 years old.
Mesmerized by the damage – cracks, debris, animal droppings, peeling paint and graffiti – caused by more than 10 years of inactivity at the pool, Dallas, 19, snapped several photos as he toured the facility Wednesday with Steve Cecchetti, a 56-year-old park district maintenance man.
Dallas planned to post some of the photos to a Facebook page started in an effort to get the pool reopened.
The page already had nearly 1,000 fans Friday. The high-tech push is being led by Candice Bass, 33, of Dixon, and Lisa Christenson, 33, of Sterling.
“I ... just wanted to get the word out and did not think it would go that crazy,” Bass said with a laugh of the Facebook page.
Bass and Christenson work at Open Sesame Children’s Learning Centers in Dixon. On Friday, about 30 kids between the ages of 9 and 12 – all too young to have been able to swim at the pool before it closed in 2000 – played their part. They were on spring break from school.
The kids participated in a video made Friday morning that will be sent to talk-show hosts Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres and the TV show “Extreme Home Makeover,” seeking their assistance in reopening the pool.
Bass, Christenson and the children gathered on the lawn outside the big round brick structure that was built and dedicated to World War II veterans. About 200 supporters attended the taping. A petition which already has more than 1,000 signatures also was circulated.
Some members of the after-school day care class spoke for the video.
Cassie Van Sickle, 11, Emma Krull, 10, and Zöe Ward, 10, all of Dixon, each memorized their speeches.
“Some of us don’t have those Y cards to go swimming here,” Ward said. “It would just be good for the community. It’s a shame it closed in the first place.”
Unrealistic request?
It would cost $3 million to fix the pool.
That’s according to engineering estimates the city, as well as a group that previously pushed for the pool to reopen, have had done.
“The park district is unable to take on a project of this magnitude without allowing citizens to vote on the matter,” said Deb Carey, the Dixon Park District’s executive director.
That’s because property tax caps limit how much revenue the park district can raise from residents without going to referendum. Two previous efforts were voted down.
One of the few remaining municipal pools is in Polo, where Terry Jenkins is the manager.
“As an outsider looking in, they [the Facebook supporters] are being unrealistic,” Jenkins said.
That’s because pools have become a losing proposition for agencies that operate them.
“No doubt we lose money on it,” Jenkins said of the pool, which has been open for 42 years. “My opinion is, financially, it is outrageous in today’s day and age with the economy being as bad as it is. They need to be more realistic.”
Reality hit the Sterling Park District last year when it closed the Lawrence Park pool.
“It was partially because of financial reasons,” Paul Zepezauer, the district’s director of recreation, said. “Usage has been declining for a long time, too. For $200 or so, you can get a small pool in your own backyard.”
Which means people want more from their public pools these days.
“They want zero-depth entry where you can walk straight in,” Zepezauer said. “People want spray toys and water slides. The days of a hole-in-the-ground pool are long gone.”
“Pools are very expensive and lose money,” said Mike Sterba, executive director of the Coloma Township Park District. “They are basically a public service since you get about 90 days at max if the weather is good out of them with costs of staff, maintenance, operations, and insurance.”
‘A community effort’
Jenkins says people come from all over to swim in Polo.
“You would not believe how many people we have from Forreston, Dixon, Sterling, Rock Falls, Oregon, Milledgeville and all over,” Jenkins said.
It doesn’t cost much to swim in Polo – $55 for a season pass for up to five family members, or $1.50 per child per day.
Bass and her group are tired of having to make the 20-minute drive to get in a swim. But she knows it will take much more than signatures and publicity to get Memorial Pool reopened.
That’s why it’s important, Bass said, that people show their support “to show people with deep pockets that this is a community effort.”
Cecchetti, who’s worked for the park district for 15 years, is nostalgic about the pool.
“I grew up in this pool,” he said. “It used to be a beehive of activity. There’d always be 50 to 60 kids here. The bike rack would be full and you’d see at least a dozen parents watching the kids swim.
“Of course, we only had four [TV] channels and they were all black-and-white. ... There was no cable, Internet, or soccer. Back then, you either played baseball or went swimming.”
Cecchetti said there’s been a lot of vandalism – including doors and windows being kicked in – that’s occurred in the past year.
In what used to be the deep end of the pool, an anarchy symbol is painted on a wall along with the words “Till The End.”
Bass, Christenson and their supporters say their efforts are far from ended.
On Facebook
To visit the Facebook page of those trying to reopen Memorial Pool, visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143118755753211 or go to Facebook.com and type in "Memorial Pool."
Send letters
To send letters of support, write to Open Sesame Children's Learning Centers, 1101 Middle Road, Dixon, IL 61021, attention: Candice Bass.